No bees, no food, no people

Without the incredible
honeybee, two-thirds of the food we take for granted would
almost vanish, making life as we know it
impossible.

“The reality is that no bees mean no food
and no people. That’s no joke because bees make
civilisation possible,” says John Hartnell, Federated
Farmers Bees Chairperson and a Christchurch based exporter
of bee products.

“If we don’t look after all natural
pollinators and the honeybee especially, we could see
economic and social collapse. We are truly tiptoeing around
the edge of a global chasm.

“One-third of the food all
humans eat is directly pollinated by honeybees. Nothing
comes close to matching nature’s super pollinator. It is
why the honeybee is most indispensable animal to modern
society.

“When you eat your main meal tonight, just
examine what’s on your plate. Anything of colour, from
broccoli to carrots, or avocados to beetroot, they are only
there because of honeybee pollination.

“What’s more,
another third of the food we eat from agriculture is
indirectly supported by honeybees pollinating pasture and
crops.

“While too much nitrogen can be a bad thing, too
little, we forget, makes life impossible. Without bees no
one would be rolling in clover. It is that simple and that
stark.

“Then of course there is fruit; our sixth largest
export worth over $1.7 billion each year. Whether it is
kiwifruit, apple, blueberry, cherry or pear, all are
directly pollinated by the honeybee.

“Without the
honeybee, we’d be pretty much dependent on an austere diet
of fish, starch, grains and seaweed.

“In China, much of
its pear industry relies on pollination by human hand
because the overuse of agricultural chemicals has made the
land hostile to the honeybee.

“That is why Bees are an
Industry Group within Federated Farmers and share policy
resources with our arable sector. This recognises just how
vital bees are to farming and farmers know that.

“the
three most important things to agriculture are ‘the bees,
the bees and the bees – you’ve got to look after the
bees.’ That says it all,” Mr Hartnell
concluded.

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